FITT are proud to partner the ‘Australian Day Of Stem’ –an initiative launched by Australia’s leading organisations, educational institutes and government bodies. This is the first true STEM ecosystem program in Australia designed to address skills shortages and equip students with skills for the jobs of the future.

Announced on November 17th by Australia’s Chief Scientist, Ian Chubb at an event in Melbourne, the program aims to provide every Australian student across the country with the opportunity to ‘test drive’ their future by living the life of Australia’s STEM leaders.

The Day of STEM aims to inspire the next generation of Australian STEM professionals through an interactive, online STEM awareness platform called LifeJourney.

The platform introduces students to the hard and soft skills needed to pursue their digital future in STEM, whilst being mentored by Australia’s STEM leaders. Additionally, the system provides parents and teachers with dashboards which help to inform their guidance and direction of students’ careers.

Prime Minister, the Hon Malcolm Turnbull said of the Day of STEM initiative, “The pace of change, underpinned by new and emerging technologies,has never been so great nor disruptive. This presents an enormous opportunity for all Australians, but particularly for today’s students. We cannot future-proof ourselves from the future, but we can equip our students with the problem solving and critical reasoning skills to capitalise on the jobs of the future. That’s why it’s so important that we promote STEM and computing in schools.”

Each ‘Day of STEM’ mentor on the LifeJourney platform will provide students with the chance to gain an in-depth understanding of the path the STEM mentor took to get to where they are today.

Mentors also give students insight into their day-to-day activities,challenges and achievements. In this way, students can gain a sound understanding of the career they are exploring, but are also able to ascertain the education and other experiences that they’ll need to gain in order to achieve their dream career.